Artikel-Schlagworte: „entertainment“

For Success . . . or Sanity

Mittwoch, 3. März 2010

Today I awoke to find that I’m sore in every single muscle of my body. I know. I checked them all. Pinkie toe? Check. I undertook a photo shoot yesterday at a studio in SoHo, where my husband works. He took over 500 images of me in every conceivable pose, so that I can use them to create visual sequences for online sources, magazines, and of course, my loyal readers. After all, you deserve high resolution too! I did yoga for 3 1/2 hours straight. It was intense, but I wanted to do it for myself, and for my Tribe, those yogis, past, present and future, who might get a spark from something I teach that lights their inner fire. To continue giving so freely, which means finding more free time, I recently did what some yogis consider to be the unthinkable: I recently signed with a yoga talent agency. Here are a few more reasons: * Way more people want me to come teach at their studios, conferences, or events, than I can handle communicating with by myself and still stay sane, much less focused on my classes. * I want to be free to continue doing what I do best, which is to create and teach my beloved practice, not emailing 20 people a day about booking arrangements. * My life’s purpose is to teach the healing benefits of yoga to as many people as I can, not teach less people because I think being on TV is “unyogic”. *I seem to have the right combination of things that makes me attractive to the national level, and that level requires a skill set of negotiation and organization that is not my strong suit. Don’t even ask me to balance a checkbook! I’m proud of the direction in which my 15 years of study and commitment are taking me. I also love that people pay me to do what I love, so I don’t have to do anything else. Most of all, I adore connecting with so many students. In all of this I want to be represented as accurately and with the same level of integrity as the photos I worked so hard to create this weekend. YAMA , started last year by Ava Taylor, a lifelong yogi, is changing the paradigm of what an agent can be, from greedy to generous, from competitive to conscious. I’m incredibly happy that Ava is there for those of us who want more help, and like their representation to come with a dash of good karma. Some in the community aren’t feeling it, yet this yoga-life-money balance is possible, it’s happening . . . and I hope the yoga world will embrace it more and more as a part of the practice–not separate from it. Sometimes, though, when it comes to making a shift, you can’t wait for everyone around you to ‘get’ it. If you believe in yourself, and you feel called to what is a right action for you, then you will simply have to go first. This is the first step towards leading by example. Core Questions: What do you think about this direction of yogis in the mainstream? Do you think we can hold our ground while dealing with the entertainment world and money, or are we just seeking fame for its own sake? When have you had to lead by example, and what happened? A Core Tip: To get more grounded, try my free Slow Hip and Leg Stretch Flow video for a great root energy release using the earth for support! See it here .

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For Success . . . or Sanity

Missouri Taxes Yoga

Mittwoch, 4. November 2009

Is yoga a fitness regime or a spiritual endeavor? This is the question at the root of a debate brewing in Missouri, which recently became the first state to collect sales tax on yoga classes, according to a report in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch . Here’s an excerpt from the article: “At issue is a Missouri statute that mandates a 4 percent tax on fees charged for athletic events like Cardinals games, fitness club memberships and other entertainment, amusement or recreation businesses. Yoga teachers say the service they provide is not recreation, but a form of physical preparation for meditation, based on ancient Hindu texts, with the ultimate goal of spiritual enlightenment. But even yogis concede the American interpretation of yoga that has blossomed, especially in the last 30 years or so, has become popular for its stress-reducing properties and physical health benefits.” It’s a debate we’ve been having in the yoga community for ages, and both sides have compelling arguments. Do you think yoga classes should be subject to state sales taxes?

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Missouri Taxes Yoga

Yogis Eliminated from Amazing Race

Montag, 28. September 2009

I’m always interested in how yogis are portrayed on television because whether we like it or not, television has a huge impact on how the non-yogis in the world see the yoga community. It might only take one scene of a reality tv show that depicts a crazy, out-of-touch yogi to inhibit hundreds (thousands even?) of people from trying their first yoga class. So I was really interested when a couple of married yoga teachers made their debut on the The Amazing Race on CBS. (OK, not interested enough to actually watch the premier, but I did follow up on the media coverage of it.) Unfortunately, the couple was eliminated right away before the show even really got started. Do you think their short stint on the show portrayed the yoga community in a favorable way? Here are a couple of videos to help you make up your mind. Or click here to watch them talk about their strategy for the show.

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Yogis Eliminated from Amazing Race